Kevin Can Wait – I’ll Be Home for Christmas…Maybe

By: Julie Mante

On this week’s episode of Kevin Can Wait, Donna (Erinn Hayes) is looking forward to Christmas. She is so excited that she is making her gingerbread house from scratch. It’s the fifth item on her Christmas to-do list. Her kids say that the house looks terrible, but nothing can stop her from trying to “do Christmas right” this year. After her daughter’s fiance, Chale (Ryan Cartwright), makes cheesy jokes about the gingerbread house she walks out and goes to find Kevin (Kevin James). She sees him lounging on the couch and tells him to start working on untangling the Christmas lights. Donna checks her list. Checks it twice. She wants to find out if Kevin will help her “do Christmas right.” Corny joke. I know. I had to…Anyway, Kevin looks at list and agrees to some things even though he thinks the family celebrates the holiday fine. He is adamant that he will not be putting the Santa sleigh on the roof. Cue the flashbacks of Kevin falling off the roof over the years putting it up. Donna agrees. No Santa sleigh this year.

Later that night, Donna and Kevin have dinner with Kevin’s friend Mott (Christopher Brian Roach) and his wife Cindy (Jackie Sandler). Cindy is happy to have a night to herself. She wants to eat fast because she is dreading a call from the babysitter. She and Mott have seven kids and babysitters often call to quit. Some have even quit as the couple is about to leave the house. She is looking forward to the day the kids grow up and she can get some breathing room. Kevin says with seven kids it is likely that they will never leave home. This freaks out Cindy and she takes off in a huff. Donna and Kevin are shocked, but Mott says that this behavior is nothing new. When Cindy is stressed about the kids, she goes to her sister’s house or goes to distracts herself at the casino.

The next day, while Kevin is running an errand for Mott, his brother Kyle (Gary Valentine) stops by the Gable home with presents for his nieces and nephews. He is feeling sad about spending Christmas day all alone. Donna reminds him that he is coming to the house on Christmas Eve. Kyle notices that the Christmas lights are still tangled and offers to untangle them. The guys at the fire station where he works call him “the untangler” so he knows he can do this job.

Kevin brings groceries to Mott’s house and is ready to leave, but Mott asks him to babysit his kids while he is at work. Cindy has not returned so the kids have no adult to watch them. Kevin is reluctant, but Mott points out that Kevin is the reason Cindy took off. Mott tells his kids not to repeat the “Lisa from down the street” incident. Kevin asks him what happened to Lisa. Mott tells him that, “These guys say she slipped. She says she was pushed. Ultimately, the judge will decide.”

When Kevin is feeding the kids, Randi with an ‘i’ (Delphina Belle), gives him a lot of attitude. She says that Kevin is big because he eats too much. This girl is definitely the boss of her siblings. She tells them to stop eating their salami and cheese sandwiches and demands that Kevin buy them Chipotle. Kevin is not accepting her attitude so he makes the ultimate threat–he is going to call Santa. Randi is not buying it and calls him on his buff. When Kevin pulls out his cell to make the call, Randi ups the ante and tells him to put it on speaker. Kevin has no choice. He ends up calling Chale and Randi is quick to point out that Chale is not Santa. Kevin is quick on his feet and tells the girl that Chale is one of Santa’s elves. Chale is also quick and says that Randi is a candidate for the naughty list. Remorseful, Randi tells Kevin to hang up. She demands her siblings start eating their sandwiches.

Donna is happy that Kyle has completed three items on her Christmas to-do list and thanks him. He even made her a hot toddy without being asked. What brings the happy tears is when he says that he will clean the chimney so she can have the “fire you deserve on Christmas.” Kevin shows up back at the house to tell Donna that he has to stay at the Mott house because Cindy got snowed in at the casino. Donna is fine with that.

When Mott comes home, Kevin is not happy with him. Mott did not bother calling Kevin to say when he would be home and Kevin had cooked meatloaf. It is obvious to the viewers that Kevin has been taking over Cindy’s role as stay-at-home parent and he is really feeling the effects. Like a nagging wife, he complains to Mott that he has not taken his kids to get a Christmas tree after promising he would. Mott apologizes and says that he will go the next day. Kevin has his doubts, but agrees.

In the beginning, Donna was happy with Kyle’s help, but now he has become intrusive. He is rearranging the mail area. He is looking at credit card statements and telling Donna she spends too much money on groceries. He has even given his nephew Jack (James DiGiacomo) the “birds and bees” talk.

When Kevin comes home to do laundry, he is complaining about all the household chores he is doing at Mott’s place. Donna offers him wine and they both start commiserating about their annoyances. Donna complains about Kyle while Kevin complains about Mott. Later, Kevin tags along with Mott and his family to get a Christmas tree and is surprised to see his family also at the tree lot. Kevin is upset and Donna tells him that she texted him, but he never responded. While the couple has not seen too much of each other, Donna is pleased everything on her do-list is completed.

Kevin breaks the news to Mott’s kids that it is time for him to go back to his own family. The kids want him to stay longer, but Kevin assures them that their dad is going to be helping out more. Kevin wants to have a group, hug but he is quickly forgotten when Cindy arrives home. She gets the hug and Kevin quietly walks out the door.

When Kevin arrives home, he hears singing. He has been replaced by Kyle. When they hear a noise, Kevin’s family goes outside to investigate. They see that Kevin has put the Santa sleigh on the roof. Like previous years, he slips and falls off the roof. However, the sleigh falls on top of him so that is a first.

In the end Kevin, who magically has no injuries from the Santa sleigh or his fall, tells Donna that taking care of the Mott children has made him appreciate her more. Because of Kyle’s intrusion, Donna also realizes that she is grateful that Kevin does not do more around the house.

I believe this is the last episode of 2016. See you next year! Merry Christmas! Happy holidays!